Did You Know?

The most common problem with external hard drives are bad or "dead" sectors caused by excess heat and / or sustaining impact.

External HDD Mechanical Failures:

What is a HDD mechanical failure?

All mechanical hard drives operate similar to a record player. Hard drives are powered by a small 12V or 5V motor which is responsible for turning a spindle. The spindle turns magnetically coated disks (called platters) in a counter-clockwise direction. Heads are attached to an long metal arm (called the actuator arm) which rapidly moves from left to right along the radius of the disk. When operating correctly, the heads are suspended above and below a disk and read or write sectors within tracks on the magnetic surface. Sectors are processed by both the drives electrical and firmware components to produce data. If mechanical components do not function correctly the desktop hard drive's firmware may not load resulting in the hard drive not being detected (undetectable) by a computer or external chassis.

External HDD Electrical Failures:

What is a HDD electrical failure?

The electrical components of an external hard drive are located inside and outside the drive chassis.

Typical external hard drives are simply a desktop or notebook hard drive which is installed into an external chassis (made of either plastic or metal). A SATA to USB converter allows your computer to communicate with the hard drive. Some converters are known to automatically encrypt data.

Internal electrical components are responsible for amplifying information read by the heads and assist in the mechanical movement of the actuator arm. The replacement or repair of internal electrical components must be performed inside a clean room. External electrical components are located on the printed circuit board and provide power to the the motor, regulate voltage, and interact with the the drives firmware. When an electrical failure occurs it's not possible for the external hard drive to function correctly; the mechanical and firmware components will not operate.

External HDD Firmware Failures:

What is a HDD firmware failure?

Firmware instructs the mechanical and electrical components of a hard drive to perform a series of actions or operations. Drive variables such as spindle rotational speed, position of the actuator arm, and the interpretation of data read by the heads is the responsibility of firmware. Firmware is typically located on the platter(s) and replies on the proper operation of the mechanics of the HDD to correctly load. Electrical components usually contain a load which instructs the mechanical function of the drive to immediately load the firmware when the external hard drive is turned on.

Things To Do:

Do not turn on the drive, the more you power your drive the more it may become damaged.

Do not freeze your external hard drive, this causes more damage than it fixes.

Do not under any circumstances open your external hard drive.

Do not bang, bump, or shake your external hard drive.

Try a different power source (either USB port or wall plug).

Try a different computer.

Ensure all cables are snug and firmly connected.

If you are comfortable, remove the external chassis and install the desktop or notebook HDD directly into your computer or another enclosure.

Call iCube Development at (888) 728-CUBE (2823) and book a free, no obligation data recovery evaluation. We'll let you know why your external hard drive is not working, provide you a free written quote, and estimated turnaround time. Data recovery evaluations are provided on a first-come first-serve basis. Rush or emergency evaluations can be requested.

Costs & Procedure:

How much will it cost to recover my data?

Due to the variables involved with external hard drive failures, iCube Development is not able to provide a quote for repair or recovery without performing a free evaluation. Use our service request form, or call iCube Development at (888) 728-2823 to setup a free data recovery evaluation.

Recovery services are provided to storage devices which no longer operate correctly due to mechanical, electrical, or firmware failures. Most mechanical, electrical, and firmware failures cannot be fixed by a consumer and must be repaired by a data recovery professional using specialized hardware equipment.

Failure Reasons:

Why did my external hard drive fail?

Controller Failure, the USB interface which talks to a computer is not working.

Age, the average consumer external hard drives work for a period of 1 to 5 years.